More Ukrainian refugees arrive in Canada, as international condemnation remains high

A chartered plane is due to land in Canada Monday carrying up to 175 Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Ukraine-Russia crisis which is now seeing two and a half months of ongoing violence.

The flight is the first to arrive in St. John’s, N.L., as part of a massive effort led by the province and buoyed by a network of volunteers who want to make sure the Ukrainians are safe, housed and cared for.

The province opened a satellite office in Warsaw, Poland, in March to help Ukrainians fleeing Russian attacks, beating Ottawa to the punch by almost two months.

It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin used his Victory Day speech in Red Square to dig in on his claim that Ukraine posed a threat to Russia, even though Moscow’s nuclear-armed forces are far superior in numbers and firepower.

He did not declare even a limited victory or signal where the conflict is headed, as some had expected.

As Putin laid a wreath to mark the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his Victory Day address to declare that his country would eventually defeat the Russians.

Meanwhile, international condemnation remains high against Putin, with fresh sanctions announced against his government in recent days.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says having the Canadian flag fly over the streets of Kyiv once again is just another testament to the strength and solidarity of Canadians and Ukrainians.

Trudeau made an unannounced visit to Ukraine Sunday, where he reopened the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv.

After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trudeau also announced fresh Canadian military support, as well as new sanctions on 40 more Russian individuals and entities.

U.S. first lady Jill Biden also paid a surprise visit to Ukraine over the weekend to show support for the embattled nation as Russia presses its war against the eastern regions.

Biden spent Mother’s Day meeting with Ukraine first lady Olena Zelenska, as well as meeting with Ukrainian mothers who have been displaced by Russia’s war and assuring them that the “hearts of the American people” are behind them.

“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” the U.S. first lady told Zelenska. “I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”

Talks continue on sending arms to Ukraine

Italian Premier Mario Draghi meets with U.S. President Joe Biden this week in Washington as Europe faces another “whatever it takes” moment with Russia’s war in Ukraine raging on its eastern flank.

Both Rome and Washington will emphasize their historic friendship and shared desire to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s two-month-old invasion when the leaders meet on Tuesday. Energy, climate change and promoting global economic prosperity also are on the agenda.

Still, there are differences in tone over the war, and public sentiment in Italy against sending arms to Ukraine is growing.

Public sentiment against sending arms to Ukraine has grown to around half, according to Renato Mannheimer, a sociologist at the Eumetra social and market research agency. Some of that sentiment is rooted in pacifism, and some is related to fears of igniting a wider war, including fears of a nuclear escalation, he said.

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Italians over 40 have palpable memories of their close geographic location to Ukraine. Shortly after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, nuclear contamination reached Italy and Italians were warned not to eat salad or drink milk for weeks.

Italy already has invoked secrecy over its military support out of security concerns. But Draghi can also point to parliament’s overwhelming support to aid Ukraine last month to play down any friction within his broad-based coalition.

FILE – U.S. President Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi prior to a ceremony at the Chigi Palace in Rome, Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. Italian Premier Mario Draghi meets with U.S. President Biden this week in Washington, D.C., as Europe faces another “whatever it takes” moment, with war raging on its eastern flank in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

“Maybe the message that Draghi will bring to Biden in these hours is: ‘We are on the side of the Americans, but let’s not make this a war of good against evil, of light against darkness,’” said Alessia De Luca, a political analyst at the ISPI think tank in Milan.

“This is a risk because Americans have this binary way of seeing things. For us Europeans, the consequences of the war spilling over are dramatic.”